Friday, December 18, 2009

On Christmas, Waiting, and John Lennon by Gregory McArthur (4)

Every Holiday season is rough for me. I have numerous falling-outs,
family problems, money problems, big changes, and in the midst of it
all, somehow or another, John Lennon becomes my soundtrack to this
season.

Now...that seems like an odd choice. To me, at least. As the one
doing the listening and as an outside observer, John doesn't
seem...Christmas-ey. His songs are filled with pain, hurt, regret,
bitterness, and strife. But they're also filled with hope, love, peace,
and a call to action for all of us to make something out of this
screwed-up planet.

But wait a minute. What does this have to do with Christmas?
Well...everything. Absolutely everything. You see, there is one season
the greeting card companies forgot about that also occurs this time of
year, possibly just the very thing that makes Christmas the most
wonderful and magnificent day of the year.

Advent. Something not many people talk about or think about. If
you're Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Episcopal, or Methodist,
chances are you've known about this season since you were little. For
those of us not brought up in these streams of Christianity, Advent is
something foreign to our language. It is a strange concept at first, yet
the very thing that makes Christmas really Christmas.

Advent serves a reminder both of the original waiting that was done
by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting of
Christians for the second coming of Christ. It is a period of longing,
of straining forward to better things. We know that the waiting was
eventually paid off by the first coming of Christ, thus also we know
that all our suffering will be paid off by the second coming. Not only
that, but every tomorrow that God gives us is an opportunity to become
people of peace, love, compassion, justice, understanding, grace, and
mercy. To be a part of God's seemingly insane approach to redeeming the
world, and to become more like Him.

Christianity is and has always been about being transformed by the
light and love of Christ and spreading that transformation out to
others. God didn't just leave us in the dark to wallow in our misery. He
promised us abundant life, made possible by the coming (and suffering,
death, and resurrection) of His Son.

But back to John Lennon. With songs like "Hold On," "Gimme Some
Truth," and "Watching the Wheels," he talks honestly about his
frustration with the world and with people who try to give him advice
but never take the time to honestly get to know him. I feel like that
most of the Advent and Christmas season. Things never go right, and I
wonder what is so wrong with the world that it is full of hypocrisy and
lies and hate and gossip. It makes me weep, and rifts between myself and
other people are caused.

But on the other hand, I cannot deny the fact that I serve a God who
came through on His promise in a most miraculous way: by becoming one
of us and dying to conquer death so that we may have life! So that we
may be a people grinding against the status quo and the empire, and
spreading a community of love and peace all around the world that cannot
be gotten rid of.

On the flip side for John, he has songs like "Imagine," "Happy Xmas
(War Is Over)," and "Give Peace a Chance." All of them songs that
reflect the hope that Christmas gives us. Yes, war CAN be over if we
want it! Peace is the way! Put aside all of your differences (religion,
race, social class, economic status, continent, health, age, hair color,
eye color) and make this world a better place. God has given us the
tools to do so, so let's get to the doing.

He won't leave us in the dark. After all, that's what Advent and
Christmas are all about. The Light of the World piercing into the
darkness, illuminating our hearts and the world, and showing all of us
that God is good and wants what is good for us, His creatures, even if
it sometimes means we have to wait for the miracle. But if there's one
thing to learn from history, it's that God is worth waiting on. You will
not be disappointed.

The Jews waited thousands of years for their Messiah. Two more days until I move? Nothin.

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men." -The Angels to the shepherds, Luke 2:14

"War is over if you want it." -John Lennon

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also
obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we
rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our
sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance
produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put
us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through
the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Rom. 5:1-5